Employers should be aware of recent updates regarding two #MeToo-related federal laws: the Speak Out Act and the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.
The Speak Out Act
President Biden signed the Speak Out Act on December 7, 2022, and the law went into effect immediately. The Act makes non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses agreed to prior to a “sexual assault dispute” or “sexual harassment dispute” unenforceable. In other words, non-disclosure agreements signed as part of an onboarding process for new employees are not ...
As much of the country wound down from Thanksgiving celebrations with friends, families and everything in between last month, football programs around the country were also recuperating from one of the most anticipated weekends of the season – the historic rivalry weekend which occurs just in time for the Thanksgiving tryptophan to wear off. As an added bonus, it also happened to be that time of year for many college programs when the afternoon football game is followed quickly by a basketball game in the evening. It is, for some sports fans, the “most wonderful time of the year” ...
As employers increasingly operate in multiple jurisdictions and are allowing more and more employees to work remotely, employers should be mindful that a number of states are passing pay transparency laws. Employers hiring workers in such states and/or posting positions that permit remote work locations need to be sure that they are aware of and comply with potential pay transparency laws.
The California Transparency Laws
California, which already required employers to disclose salary information to applicants upon reasonable request, has added new pay scale disclosure ...
It’s that time of year again for holiday parties. Because many companies did not host holiday parties in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are now returning to in-person events, it’s time to brush up on the best practices for avoiding holiday-related legal claims.
Holiday parties are a wonderful opportunity for team building and increasing morale. However, there are potential legal issues associated with company holiday parties. The following are some of the legal issues to think about when planning a holiday party:
1. Religious Discrimination: Be careful not to ...
On October 19, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released a new poster that employers must prominently display in the workplace. The new poster replaces an old version, titled “Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law,” which featured important information regarding federal laws prohibiting workplace discrimination embedded in blocks of text that may have been cumbersome and difficult to read. The new poster, entitled simply “Know Your Rights,” contains much of the same information, along with some new updates.
Perhaps most striking ...
When was the last time your company’s website underwent a compliance review? Is your website compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”)? Did you know that your website may be considered a public accommodation under the ADA? These are all questions you should be asking yourself when it comes to your company website.
Employer websites may be considered public accommodations for public-facing businesses under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Though the ADA does not explicitly mention websites or mobile applications, it states ...
The French sociologist Jean Baudrillard once said: “The sad thing about artificial intelligence is that it lacks artifice and therefore intelligence.” While some may view this as a harsh critique of a tool that has improved many facets of modern society, artificial intelligence (“AI”) is not infallible, particularly in the employment context. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently issued guidance on employers’ use of artificial intelligence in employment-related decisions, such as applicant screening, hiring, and performance ...
In June 2022, in S.W. Airlines Co. v. Saxon, 142 S. Ct. 1783 (2022), the Supreme Court weighed in on the scope of arbitration agreements in employment contracts for transportation workers. Saxon, a ramp supervisor at Southwest Airlines who worked loading and unloading cargo from aircrafts, brought a putative class action against Southwest for allegedly violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by not providing ramp workers with overtime compensation despite requiring them to work over forty hours a week. Southwest argued that Saxon was bound by the arbitration provision in Saxon’s ...
Effective July 1, 2022, employers with at least one employee working in the City of Chicago must provide Chicago-based employees with sexual harassment prevention training. The City’s Human Rights Ordinance now requires one hour of annual training for all employees and a second hour of training for managers/supervisors. In addition, in what appears to be a unique requirement, all employees must also receive one hour of “Bystander Intervention” training.
Bystander Intervention is defined by the City as “safe and positive actions” a person may take to “prevent ...
Just this month the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, No. 20-1573, 2022 WL 2135491 (U.S. June 15, 2022), wherein it partially reversed the California Supreme Court’s holding in Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC. The case deals with the controversial Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency (“LWDA”) is authorized to enforce California’s labor laws; however, because the legislature believed that the LWDA did not have sufficient resources to ...
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